


The Game They Play

by Nikasha



Category: Compilation of Final Fantasy VII
Genre: Character Study, Death Threats, Friends With Benefits, Friends to Lovers, M/M, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Panic Attacks, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Target Practice
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-21
Updated: 2021-01-23
Packaged: 2021-03-06 16:14:04
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 9
Words: 17,430
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26021725
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nikasha/pseuds/Nikasha
Summary: Tseng has his scars. Who could bear to see them?
Relationships: Reno/Tseng (Compilation of FFVII)
Comments: 12
Kudos: 46





	1. Fascination

**Author's Note:**

> This was supposed to be a random one-shot thing about Tseng have a panic attack and it escalated out of my control. Oops.
> 
> Btw I make no promises that this will turn into a healthy relationship because I'm not sure it will. I'm just writing what the muses tell me to.

Reno could hear the sound of gunshots even through the layers of noise-proofed walls. It was part of the reason the Turks were below ground, he supposed. The clerical type workers in the other parts of the building would be spooked by gunfire.

He slid open the door and found earplugs and headphones. There was another door between this room and the actual firing range, and he used the remaining barrier to psyche himself up, plug his ears, and check his own handgun. He hated the damn thing, but he needed it for this.

Reno made sure the first door was closed and open the second one. Another round of shots echoed out, muffled by his earplugs and further by the headphones. He wandered along the stalls, looking for the shooter.

Tseng was standing at roughly the middle stall, firing at the target as far down range as the reel went. The headphones were dangling around his neck, but there was a faint hint of orange at his ears.

Reno waited. Tseng ran out of bullets and relaxed from his stance, ejecting the magazine and setting both it and the empty gun down on the table. Reno went up once Tseng's hands were off of it and kicked the stall, shouting, "Yo!"

There was ample distance between them and the shout was muffled by Tseng's earbuds, but he still reacted like he had been grabbed, picking up the empty gun in a flash and swinging around to hold the butt at an angle towards Reno like he was going to hit him.

They both stared at each other for a moment, Reno a step backwards and Tseng with the gun in his hand.

Tseng sighed and popped out one of the earbuds. "What are you doing here, Reno?"

The redhead shrugged with a grin. "Shooting?" Tseng stared him down. "Er, I'm not…lying."

"But it isn't the whole truth." The director hit the switch to bring the target closer and they both waited for it. "You knew I was here."

"Mmhm." Reno didn't try to deny it.

"Do you understand why?"

"Yep." Reno didn't glance at Tseng, still watching the paper come swinging towards them. He squinted. "Aim's off, boss. You missed a couple."

Tseng rolled his shoulders back. "Hitting isn't the point…" He stopped it and tugged the paper free, folding it up without looking at it. "Are you going to shoot or not?"

Reno clicked his tongue. "Eh, sure. I need the practice."

"You sure do."

"Fuck you, too, Tseng."

They stared at each other for a moment before Tseng pulled out a fresh target and Reno went to the next stall over, beginning to set it up. He put the target a little over halfway, hesitated, and pushed it a bit farther.

He saw Tseng's target go swinging off again and resettled his headphones. "Clear?"

A beat and then a muffled response. "Clear."

Reno checked his gun again while Tseng was pushing bullets into a new magazine. Finished, he clicked the safety off, and leveled the gun at the target.

Breathe in. Breathe out. Breathe in. Breathe out.

Reno squeezed the trigger as he exhaled and the gun went off. He kept breathing through it as he slowly shot again and again.

Once he ran out, he took out the clip and set them both down. While he waited for the target to reel in, he listened to the muffled cacophony of Tseng firing again. The noises were more sporadic that usual, his spacing between each shot less careful and measured.

Reno looked at the target and pressed his lips together. Two were in the head and one in the chest, and the rest were scattered. Two had missed the paper completely.

Tseng stopped firing so Reno poked his head around the divider to watch him work. Watching Tseng's long, glove-darkened fingers press and slide over the handgun with ease always gave him a shiver.

"Reno." The redhead jumped. Tseng hadn't even turned to look at him. "Are you here to practice or just stare at me?"

The redhead hummed like he was actually considering the question. "Both?"

Another sigh, but Reno heard the hint of amusement. Cheerful, Reno reloaded with a pre-filled magazine and set up.

Before he could fire, he felt hands on his elbows. He startled bad, nearly tugging free, but Tseng held tight and immobilized him until the knee-jerk reaction was over. Reno took a breath to snap at him, but Tseng pressed up against his back and pushed his elbows up. The breath left him.

"Like this."

The redhead took a shallow inhale, stomped down on his libido, and focused. He kept his arms up while Tseng moved to rest his hands on his hips.

"Back," he said, lining up Reno's hips and making him lean forward slightly.

Reno narrowed his eyes and breathed. Fired.

Tseng didn't let go until the clip was out. He tugged one of the headphones aside and breathed into Reno's ear. "Your posture is terrible."

"Hey!" Reno twisted to try to look at him from the corner of his eye. "That's your fault, you trained me, asshole."

"Practice is your job." Tseng finally moved away.

Reno examined amber eyes for the brief moment he had a glimpse. Some of the poison had gone out of them. He pulled down the headphones to rest around his neck and tugged out an earbud. "I ran out of bullets."

Tseng turned back to stare at him, eyebrows rising. "You brought only enough bullets for two rounds?" Dubious.

Reno beamed. "I hate these damn things, boss."

Tseng rolled his eyes and muttered a swear. "Come here, you shithead." He led Reno back around to his section and handed off a full clip. "Shoot carefully, not quickly."

"Mmhm." Reno tossed it up and caught it, watching Tseng's face while the other Turk watched the magazine go up and back down. "You gonna tell me why you come here once a month?"

Tseng gave him a flat look. "You said you understood."

Reno always had been a consummate liar. "Besides to practice, I mean."

There was a tense quiet. Tseng turned back to the unloaded gun, set his hand over it, rubbed a thumb across the grip. "No," he said simply.

Reno shrugged. "Fair." He left him to it, returning to his stall and putting the magazine into the gun. Replaced the paper, the movements turning methodical.

He felt something cold against the back of his head and froze. He was much too intimately familiar with the feeling of a gun to the back of his skull. "…Tseng?"

A shift, the softest click of the safety flicking off. Reno closed his eyes.

They stayed there like that for a few moments that felt like years. Reno was barely breathing, hands resting in front of him on the table on either side of the gun. Even he couldn't dodge a bullet at this range.

Tseng exhaled. He flicked the safety on and lowered the gun, then wrapped an arm around Reno's waist, pulling him back to lean against him and putting his nose in his hair.

Reno let him, letting out a shaky breath. His heart was fluttering. "It wasn't loaded," he murmured.

"Wasn't it?" Tseng asked.

He didn't know what to say to that. "Come home with me, yo."

"No." He nuzzled into Reno's hair and splayed his hand over his abdomen. "I tell you every time. No."

Reno made a noise of frustration. "Why do I put up with your bullshit?"

"I don't know, Reno, why do you put up with my bullshit?"

Reno struggled to free himself or turn, but Tseng wouldn't let him, holding him still. "Fuck!" the redhead finally spat, crossing his arms and leaning back against his chest. "Fuck you. Asshole." He felt a tongue against his ear and drew in a shuddering breath. "What the fuck, Tseng."

"Sorry." He breathed air across the wet skin and finally withdrew, letting go of Reno's waist and disappearing back behind the divider.

Reno immediately missed his warmth. He swore a blue streak in his head and tried to cool off and get his erection to go down. He put the headphone over his ear and picked up his gun, hesitated, then barked, "Clear?"

There was a quiet chuckle that he barely caught. "Clear."

It just made him angrier. Completely disregarding everything Tseng had been telling him, he leveled the sight on the target and went nuts. When he was finished, he set the gun down and hissed through his teeth. He almost expected to feel hands on him again, but there was nothing. He peeked around the divider. No one was there. Tseng's equipment was gone, too. "Fuck."

Annoyed, Reno cleaned up, tossing his targets in the trash, and filled out a new clip with bullets to slot into his gun before he put the safety on and tucked it away. He went into the next room and removed the headphones and earbuds, setting the headphones back into the container and trashing the buds.

There was no one in the hallway, either. It was like the other Turk had just vanished into thin air.

Reno sulked his way home.


	2. Fixation

He found somewhere quiet. An old conference room that no one used, with hidden corners that couldn't be seen into from outside. He couldn't engage the lock, since it would change a sign outside to indicate the room was in use, but it would suit his purposes.

He settled into one of the corners, crossing his legs. His long hair was twisted and coiled over one shoulder. He lowered his head and closed his eyes, resting his arms on his knees.

He wasn't normally one to meditate, but he desperately needed it when times like these occurred. His breathing was impossible to steady, shaking and uneven. His heart pounded. It was a struggle to calm enough to even consider it meditating.

The loud retort of a gun echoed in his ears and he twitched, pushed the memory away. He heard a cry of anguish that melded and reverberated until it sounded like Reno and Rude. Blood. So much blood.

That was what separated things for him. There hadn't been blood when he shot Elfe and Veld. There had been a lot of blood when he shot the woman an hour ago. Not nearly as clean as his shots would have once been. The slight shake to his hands was throwing his aim off. The knowledge sat uneasy in his gut.

He heard rain. Smelled the wet air. It was tinged with copper. The water on the ground ran red. So many bullets. Zack Fair had been shot so, so many times.

"Boss?"

Tseng startled, taking a slow breath in. Reno was lucky he wasn't standing too close, or Tseng likely would have tried to hit him. He slowly looked up, afraid of what he might see, feeling the tightness still in his ribs.

Reno cocked his head at him. His usual smirk was gone, just concern there now. And ever-aware intelligence and cunning in green eyes. Not the stunning, glowing Mako green of Sephiroth as he cut someone down or watched people burn, but the muted, watercolor green of natural eye color.

"Boss."

Tseng realized a beat too late that he flinched from the word when Reno frowned further. He couldn't bring himself to clarify or reassure him. He still ached. He didn't want to worry him, but…

"Tseng," Reno tried again.

The Turk director breathed a laugh that was completely devoid of amusement. "Yes, Reno?" he finally said, breaking his posture and leaning back against the wall as he brought a knee up to rest his wrist on. He rolled his head against the wall to look at his Turk.

Reno straightened, shifted, slouched again. "Nothing, just…" He looked uncomfortable. "You need anything?"

Tseng read the look in his eyes and was absently interested to see that there was no need there. None of the burning hunger that Reno usually looked at him with when he was on a mission high or welcoming him back from his own missions, or when they were alone together and Reno was pretending he was nearby for some idle reason rather than his fascination with Tseng and desire for him.

Sometimes he was there out of concern. Usually it was a mix.

Tseng recounted seeing the hunger burn hotter when Tseng was shadowing Rufus. Envy didn't look good on Reno, he had decided long ago. The redhead was the type to see something he wanted and take it. He looked much better when he was doing that.

"No," Tseng finally answered. He readjusted one of his gloves.

Reno hesitated then moved to sit next to Tseng. He left space between them, respecting some boundary. Pulled out his phone and started toying around on it.

Tseng smiled to himself. He appreciated the effort, even if it was unnecessary. He suddenly realized his hands had stopped shaking and his chest hurt less. His smile turned sardonic. "Are you busy this evening?"

Reno never looked up from his phone. "Nope. Was gonna go home, jack off, and sleep, probably."

Tseng couldn't help the scoff that burst from him. "Classic."

"You have your coping mechanisms, I have mine." It was clearly supposed to be a throwaway line, but Reno grimaced at the callousness of it. He didn't try to take it back.

"Yes." He closed his eyes, focused on the warmth of another body close to his, even if not as close as he wanted. At the same time, the thought of having someone pressed against him put his hackles up. "Come home with me."

Reno went rigid. He stopped paging through his phone and turned to look directly at Tseng, his shock clear.

Tseng turned to look back at him.

"For serious?" Reno squeaked out. "Wait, is that why you kept turning me down, yo? Because you wanted to go to yours and not mine?"

Tseng hummed and it almost turned into a chuckle. It felt good. "No, Reno. Although I admit, knowing you, your place is probably a hazard zone."

The redhead huffed. "I take offense to that."

"Not too much offense, I hope." Tseng's eyelids lowered. He knew he held all the cards in this game they played, was the one to say when to go and when to stop. But Reno was still a player and because of that Tseng never entirely knew what the rules would be when they played. Reno was a wrench in the clockwork of his life, the fire that healed instead of destroying.

Reno's smirk finally spread across his face. _There you are,_ Tseng thought. "Not too much, no," he answered confidently. He laughed a little. "Man, this isn't sexy in the slightest, the fuck are you doing?"

Tseng considered that. It had little to do with physical need. It had everything to do with this redheaded man that had hunted him down knowing how he probably felt and proceeded to sit next to him with no guarantee of anything in return.

There were only two people that had ever done that for him. One he no longer felt comfortable showing weakness to. The other was someone he was going to have to bring in next time he saw her.

"Does it matter?" he asked.

Reno snorted. "I guess not." He scooted closer, letting their hips brush. When Tseng didn't flinch away, he leaned closer.

Tseng watched him. He was put on edge by the proximity, but also drawn to it. Reno was hard edges and whip-like energy. His eyes were warm, but wary. He was so used to Tseng leading him along then dropping him. That kind of power felt good.

He wanted more of it.

The director leaned in the rest of the distance to press their mouths together. Reno was testing the waters, but Tseng was not. He didn't turn their kiss sensual, but there was nothing hesitant or uncertain about it. He stroked the back of his fingers across Reno's cheek, fascinated by how soft his skin was. He traced the line of a tattoo with his thumb, something he had done before, but never with such gentleness.

Reno shivered. He was pressing back into the kiss now, leaning closer as his eyes slid almost shut. But it was like he couldn't close them completely while Tseng kept his own open.

Tseng examined green eyes thoughtfully. As Reno separated to suck in a breath, shadows crossed the teal color and made it look more blue. It was beautiful.

The moment Reno drew his tongue over Tseng's lips, he pulled away. When the Turk gave a slightly distressed whine, Tseng chuckled and pressed another light kiss to his mouth to ease the sting. "Not here." He looked over Reno's expression, at the redness slightly staining his cheeks as he softly panted for breath, the pout to his lips after kissing. To Tseng's chagrin, he felt that burning hunger that he saw in Reno's eyes stir in him.

But Reno shifted away, rubbing a knuckle across his mouth. Certainly it hadn't been the first time he had kissed—Tseng had caught him with more than a couple lovers and even sent him on missions that required that sort of espionage—but Reno seemed to be savoring it. "Yeah," he breathed, running a hand through his spiky hair. "Don't suppose it would be good to do that here."

Tseng snorted daintily and stood, brushing off his pants with light pats. "I would not allow it even if I were in the right mindset," he said firmly. "You may not think much of fucking on the desks, but I would rather not show people that side of me and my lovers."

Reno grinned sheepishly, but it turned impish. "I'll change your mind somehow," he challenged.

Tseng mentally balked. The hint that Reno thought this might happen more than once was grinding on his sensibilities. But at the same time, it didn't burn as much as he would have thought. "We'll see," he said instead. Reno clearly understood because the tease went out of his expression, although the smile stayed. Tseng held out a hand to him and helped him stand.

"Let me grab my stuff from my desk and we can—"

Tseng raised a brow at him. "The work day is not over yet. We are going to finish work, and then you may plan to leave."

Reno stared at him. "Fucking cock sucker," he said eloquently.

Tseng couldn't help the soft laugh that earned, hiding it behind his hand. "That is the point," he replied, still smiling.

The Turk stared some more, although this time he seemed floored that Tseng was showing an expression that wasn't sheer exhaustion. Finally, he shoved a hand through his hair again, knocking his goggles askew, and simply said, "Yeah, fine, sure."

Tseng decided to jar him out of it. "If you swear at me again I will put you on desk duty for a month."

Reno went ramrod straight, a crackle of furious light entering his gaze. "No way! Boss, c'mon!"

Tseng smirked, immovable.

"Tch." Reno waved a hand. "Sorry, yo. Alright, I'll see you later. Uhh, text me or something?"

"Of course." Tseng was the first to leave the room, swinging open the door without a care for anyone who might be passing by and see them leaving a conference room together. An office worker did happen to glance over from a hall, but they just turned and pretended they hadn't seen anything.

Tseng was privately amused by it. ShinRa employees were terrified of Turks, like they thought the suited people would actually kill them for something as trivial as gossip. He didn't discourage the idea.

Nor did Reno, apparently. He had his magrod out and tapping at his thigh as he watched them walk away, then clicked his tongue. "Loser," he mumbled and turned on his heel, headed back to the elevators.

Tseng headed to the restroom to make sure his hair wasn't mussed from leaning against the wall.


	3. Temptation

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This update was almost late...Crazy week and I'm currently out of town. Props to this hotel, they have great wifi.  
> Hope you enjoy :P

Reno swore. He stepped back, eyes on the black cat sitting on top of a table, watching him with about as much venom as he watched it.

"Didn't know you have a cat, boss," he said warily.

Tseng looked between the two, mouth twitching into a reluctant smile. "Her name is Daiyu. She is normally very polite, but she doesn't seem to like you much."

"Hm." Reno's eyes narrowed. "I wonder why."

Daiyu kept staring at Reno, flipping her tail in silent displeasure. When Tseng walked over and stroked a hand over the top of her head, she pushed up into his touch, but never looked away from Reno.

"Okay, boss, she's giving me the creeps."

He gave a small sigh. "Not boss here, Reno," he admonished, glancing at him. "Just Tseng." He left Daiyu to her own devices and walked further into the apartment.

Reno gave the cat a wary glare and followed him.

In the kitchen area, Tseng dug out two cups. "Now that I think about it, it's kind of surprising you haven't been here before," he commented. "I want to say Rude has. Elena definitely has."

Reno grimaced, shoving his hands into his pockets, hunching his shoulders, and leaning against a wall. "Didn't mean anything by it," he grumbled. "Just…didn't feel like it was a good idea."

Tseng watched the cup in his hand fill with water.

Reno bit his lip. There was a silent tension between them even with them moving idly around, doing nothing. Anticipation. It had always been there, really, but they had never spent much time in a relaxed place together before. Always work, or a bar, or some other crowded.

He walked up to Tseng, pressing against his back, and wrapped his arms around his waist. He let his chin come to rest on his shoulder, watching as he filled up a second cup with water.

"And now that we are pushing the boundaries, you think it's a good idea?" Tseng asked, a slight lilt in his voice like he was amused.

Reno hummed. He tugged Tseng's hair gently out of the way. "Nah. But the cat was giving me a look and I didn't wanna be alone with it."

Tseng's body vibrated with a soft laugh under Reno's hands. "Her name is Daiyu, Reno. Don't make me tell you again." He turned in Reno's grasp, elbows resting on the counter and forcing Reno to rest his hands next to them, freeing Tseng from his arms. Reno found himself examining how the light reflected in Tseng's amber eyes.

"What's Daiyu mean?" he asked suddenly, voice soft.

"Black jade," Tseng answered. He tilted his head just to the side, black hair slipping against his shoulder and making Reno's stomach go tight. "Ask what you really want to know."

Reno relaxed a little and his mouth quirked into a sideways smile. "How much longer you gonna stall?"

"As long as I feel is necessary." He breathed the words against Reno's mouth. Reno's eyes fluttered as Tseng glanced from his lips to his gaze. Then he turned back around.

Reno exhaled and stepped away, wrangling back his self-control. He leaned his lower back against the counter, examining the space to give himself something else to think about.

He felt a touch against his arm and looked to see Tseng holding one of the cups towards him. He took it and Tseng walked back the way they had come, leaving him alone in the kitchen.

He took a shallow breath, looking down into the water. He felt like he was about to make a leap off of a cliff. Or out of a helicopter. He swallowed and downed the water, then set the cup on the counter and went to find Tseng.

Reno found him in a room down a short hallway, sitting on a simple looking bed running his hand along the cat's spine. Daiyu looked up at him and Reno involuntarily narrowed his eyes. The damn cat was in his way.

He heard a noise of amusement and looked up to meet Tseng's gaze.

"Come in and I'll put her outside," Tseng said, raising a brow. He was unimpressed by Reno's apparent jealousy.

Reno rubbed at the back of his neck. "Oh, uh, okay." He stepped into the room as Tseng stood, scooping the cat into his arms.

Tseng paused in the doorway, both of them locked in the moment of closeness. He broke it first, stepping out to set Daiyu down. She trotted off happily like it had been her idea.

The door closed and it felt like the temperature in the room shot up. Tseng turned back around and Reno realized how close he was, breathing his air again. He took a step forward, but Tseng didn't back away.

Tseng was the one to break the standoff. He reached out and put a hand against the back of Reno's neck as he stepped closer, pressing their lips together. It was soft at first, Tseng testing and Reno hesitating, but once Reno had a taste of him, he couldn't help himself. He sucked in a breath through his nose and kissed him harder, the tension that had been holding him tight broken. His arms went around Tseng's neck and a hand loosely coiled in sleek black hair.

Tseng changed the position of his hand to grip onto Reno's ponytail and harshly yank his head back. As Reno gasped in surprise, he pressed a contrasting soft kiss to his jaw. "Do not pull my hair," he said and his tone allowed no argument.

Reno made a noise of acknowledgement, the pain and pleasure mixed in his scalp making his skin burn. He gently freed his fingers from Tseng's hair. After he did, the lips that had been against his jaw moved to press against the pulse in his neck, the grip in his hair forcing him to angle his head slightly. Reno didn't fight it. He moaned, legs coming to rest on either side of Tseng's thigh, pressing against him.

Tseng sighed out, almost impatient. "Gods, you're insatiable," he murmured against Reno's skin. "I knew you wanted this, but not this badly." He pushed his leg into the redhead's clothed cock.

Reno choked on another gasp. "Fuck, man, don't tease me," he rasped, throat pulsing as he swallowed. "I want you, Tseng."

The other man hummed. Acknowledging it in words would have made the dance they did until now more real, so neither of them did. He held Reno at his mercy as he licked and nipped across his skin, and Reno realized Tseng was proactively searching out the spots across his body that made him squirm. They had barely begun and Reno was gasping for breath.

Tseng loosened his grip in red hair and pushed Reno back with a hand on his chest until the back of his knees hit the bed and he sat.

Reno glanced away. When he looked up again, he realized Tseng hadn't followed him. To his irritation, his boss had his phone out and was looking at it. "The fuck, Tseng?" he said, some of his annoyance leaking into his voice.

Tseng looked at him and the silent admonishment in his gaze cowed Reno a bit. It was a stark reminder that Tseng was the one holding the reins. "Rufus ShinRa is messaging me. It would seem something has happened."

That dumped a bucket of ice on Reno's libido. "What? What'd he say?" He dug his own phone out, recalling that he had put it on silent just before he got to Tseng's place. After all, if he was around Tseng, there was no way he would be missing out on anything important.

However, his phone was inert. No new messages.

He looked up and saw Tseng frowning. "I haven't gotten anything, boss."

This time Tseng didn't twitch away from the word like it pained him. "It's…" He trailed off as his phone actually started ringing and he picked up. "Tseng."

Reno watched him go through a myriad of expressions finally settling on 'exasperated' as he pinched the bridge of his nose between his fingers. "Sir, you cannot…No, I cannot watch Dark Nation. With all due respect, sir, do not bring her over here. I can send someone…Rufus."

As Tseng's annoyance mounted, Reno's patience thinned. He flopped back on the bed, staring up at the ceiling with his arms out to his sides. He could faintly hear Rufus's voice on the other end of the line, talking surprisingly quick and almost hurried.

Whatever the issue was, Tseng wasn't having it. "Mr. President, does this count as an emergency?" Tseng rarely took that tone with Rufus and Reno lifted his head to look at him, surprised. The director was facing away from him now, most likely concealing his expressions. "Yes, I am busy. Please tell me what is going on before I hang up on you."

Reno snickered softly to himself. No one else, including himself, would say something like that to Rufus unless under extreme duress. Reno had threatened to hang up on Rufus exactly once since he became president. After the talking to he had gotten for it, Reno had never said it again.

Tseng was still listening on the phone, facing away. Reno slid off the bed and walked up to him, then gently ran his hands down Tseng's arms. There was no reaction except the slightest tilt of his head, like Tseng was puzzled by what Rufus was saying to him. Unable to resist, Reno gently scooped black tresses into his hands and he straightened the hair down Tseng's back. He let go and pressed his fingers into the locks just at the base of Tseng's skull to comb through, but suddenly the man turned and caught Reno's wrist.

Reno stared into cold amber eyes, entranced. There was a rebuke there for touching him, but he couldn't find it in himself to care. He grinned, unrepentant, and Tseng rolled his eyes.

"Call the labs," Tseng suddenly said, still matching gaze with Reno. "It doesn't sound like something that would hurt her, considering her unique constitution, but they would know for sure."

Reno found his hand released and lowered it, but didn't move away again. He could hear Rufus more clearly now, speaking closer to his normal speed and saying something about not trusting the labs. Tseng closed his eyes and Reno felt his resignation. He understood. The labs had fucked up with Dark Nation after her battle with Cloud, and all of them were hesitant to put her back at their mercy.

"It is your call, Mr. President," Tseng answered, neutral. A pause. "Of course, sir. I would be delighted to discuss it further in the morning. Yes, have a good evening." Finally he hung up.

Reno's mouth quirked upwards. "That sounded fun."

"Dark Nation ate two pillows and a house plant," Tseng said flatly. He glared when Reno barked out a laugh. "You're on duty to take her out for exercise starting Monday."

That shut him up. "Aw, c'mon, boss, Dark hates me!"

Tseng turned and headed back out into the main area. "She doesn't hate you, she's a military canine. She obeys orders and that's about it. Come on, the mood has been summarily destroyed."

Reno followed after him sulkily. "Yeah…Damn dog. Although you're kind of wrong, you know. She totally has a personality. Have you even seen her look at Rufus? And I thought you were devoted."

Tseng paused where he was digging through cabinets, hand touching a kettle. He cleared his throat and pulled it out. "I wouldn't say devoted."

"You wouldn't say a lot of shit, yo," Reno pointed out. He hopped up on the counter for about five seconds until Tseng gave him a stare that quite clearly said Reno was about to lose a body part. So he quickly jumped back down. "What would you call it, then?"

"Doing my job," Tseng said flatly, refusing to rise to Reno's bait. He started filling the kettle with water and Reno realized he was probably going about making tea.

Reno suddenly felt uneasy. "Yeah…Well anyway, since we apparently aren't fucking, you have any movies to watch?"

Tseng paused, drumming his fingers. "No," he answered. If Reno hadn't been watching the suddenly tense line of his shoulders, he wouldn't have known Tseng was nervous about answering that. "Plenty of books, but I do not have any shows or movies. I do have a TV, however, if you would like to find out how to work it yourself."

"Sure." Given something to do besides sit and stare at Tseng's ass, Reno wandered into the living room. He paused to appreciate the minimalistic aesthetic Tseng seemed to don, then dug out the remote and went about puzzling out his director's brand of television. It wasn't too different from his own, besides being a bit more expensive, so he managed to wrangle the controls and connect one of his streaming accounts. He dug for a movie, hearing the kettle in the kitchen slowly ramp up to a whistle.

Something brushed against his leg and Reno jumped hard, nearly dropping the remote. He looked down straight into a pair of judgmental orange eyes. Daiyu rubbed against him again then jumped up onto the couch and curled up on a pillow and stared at him. _Mine,_ she seemed to be saying, although whether she meant the pillow or everything in the building remained to be seen.

After Reno had picked some true crime episode of a show he had been meaning to watch, Tseng came in with two steaming mugs, tags trailing over the lips. He looked between Reno and Daiyu without expression and sat in between them, setting the mugs on the coffee table. "What did you put on?"

"Just a show I like to watch," he answered lazily. He leaned into the couch, slinging an arm across the back. Tseng sat forward slightly, collecting his hair into a bunch and pulling it to one side over his shoulder.

Reno wasn't actually watching the show, had figured he wouldn't be. He was much too distracted watching Tseng instead, getting a feel for how he behaved in his own private space, in clothes that weren't tailored suits. Reno was a bright intruder in a space of clean straight lines and muted color. The image that popped into his head was a cardinal sitting in a bank of snow.

He wondered what Tseng would have pictured.

"I never really understood why people turn on movies or shows and then don't watch them." Reno was a bit startled by Tseng suddenly speaking, breaking the silence between them. "Why turn it on in the first place, then?"

Reno's mouth twisted and he looked away from Tseng's back. "The noise. Silence gets to some people."

Tseng was quiet for a bit. "Nothing wrong with silence."

"Nothing wrong with noise."

Reno drank the tea and finished an episode. He slept with his back pressed to Tseng's, kept awake for at least an hour by the warmth and lithe muscle that he couldn't recall seeing on Tseng's body, but sure felt against him.

When he woke in the morning, he could hear the television running, playing the show he had left it on, accompanied by the sound of Tseng cooking something.

Reno inhaled the smell and relaxed.


	4. Hesitation

Reno slapped down his hand of cards, chewing on the butt of his cigarette. "Fold. Fuck you, Rude," he groaned.

His partner smiled, lowering his cards. "If you want to talk, you don't have to lose," he commented.

Reno ground his cig out in the ashtray on the table. "You ain't supposed to address something that bluntly; it's offensive," he said haughtily.

"What's offensive is that you think I don't know you lost on purpose."

Reno sucked on his teeth. "Fine, you win! In all ways. Get me a beer?"

Obliging as ever, Rude pushed his chair away from the table and went to his kitchen to fetch them drinks. While he was gone, Reno set his phone on the lacquered wood and spun it slowly with a single finger. When Rude returned, he took a drink before even attempting to put his thoughts into words. "I almost slept with Tseng."

"Almost?" Rude seemed more surprised by that then the idea of them in bed together. He settled his own bottle on the table and crossed his arms, waiting for Reno to continue.

"Yeah, almost. We got interrupted by the princess." The Turks had come to respect the hell out of Rufus, but that didn't mean they didn't enjoy taking the piss out of him regardless. "Dark ate something weird, I dunno. Anyway, point is we didn't. We just…hung out the rest of the night and went to bed." He licked his lips and took another drink.

"And?" Rude prompted, raising an eyebrow.

"And shit, partner. It's been a week and he hasn't even tried to talk to me about it, or try again. I've cornered him twice, but he looks so gods damned tired I feel bad even bringing it up."

Rude leaned back in his chair, lips pressing tight like they did when he was thinking over something. "He never stops going, Reno," he reminded him. "Tired or not, if you want it, you'll have to take whatever opportunity you get."

"I know." Reno ran a hand over his face. "Only reason I got to him the first time was because he shot that Keller lady and was having an attack. It wasn't as bad as they used to be, at least. He wasn't shaking. Just breathing real hard."

Rude nodded. "Good."

"Yeah." Reno twisted the bottle in his hands, running a thumb over a bit of texture in the glass. He grimaced. "I'm getting real pent up, yo."

Rude laughed, his soft chuckle that rumbled through Reno's body and sank into his bones. It was a good laugh. "Talk to him."

"You're merciless, ya know?" Reno complained, squinting at him. "Merciless! You're over there with your ridiculously big dick and you won't even let me touch you no more."

Rude rolled his eyes behind his sunglasses. "I just don't want to hear you say the wrong name in my ear," he retorted.

"You two are like night and day, partner, I couldn't get you mixed up if I actually tried."

A grunt. "Reno. Quit the pity party."

Reno caved. "Yeah, yeah. I'll talk to him tomorrow, I swear."

"Good." Rude picked up his beer and took a drink. "If you don't, I'll talk to him myself."

Reno squawked in horror and Rude laughed at him.

\---

Reno narrowed his eyes at Tseng, shoving his hands into his pockets. "Lemme get this straight…We're being sent to Cosmo Canyon to check in on some trade routes?"

Tseng nodded, glanced down at a piece of paper on his desk, and sighed through his nose. "Details are in the mission specs. But essentially we are receiving reports that the trade guards aren't doing their jobs. They're probably compromised. Several shipments of Wutai weapons were intercepted in the past three weeks."

Rude made a noise in his throat and Reno echoed it. "Weapons? Shit, why haven't we just offed the trade guards yet?"

Tseng shrugged. "That would require losing manpower that we can't afford to lose on that border. Not to mention, the guards there are all Midgar-Wutai descent. Removing them would risk public image."

Reno snorted. "Public image? Rufus is concerned with public image?"

"No, Reeve is," Tseng corrected him firmly. He pressed his fingers together. "Any further questions?"

Reno pressed his tongue to his teeth. "…No, sir." Rude shook his head.

"Then you are dismissed. You are expected to fly out tomorrow morning." He looked down to his papers again and picked up a pen, a clear dismissal.

Reno glanced at Rude. His partner raised a brow then shook his head in resignation when he realized what Reno was doing. Reno shrugged at him and Rude waved a hand when he left the office. Reno was on his own.

"Tseng." Reno shifted his weight from one foot to the other. "I need to talk to you."

Tseng didn't look up. "It can wait until you return, Reno."

Something in him hissed like an angry snake when Tseng wouldn't even glance at him. He swallowed down his irritation. "C'mon. We need to talk, yo."

The director gave a sigh that Reno was very familiar with, a noise that signaled he was losing his patience. Still, he put the pen down and finally locked amber eyes on him, settling back in his chair. "What is it?"

"You know what it is," Reno snapped helplessly. "Why haven't you talked to me? If you changed your mind, you could at least fucking tell me."

Tseng's brow furrowed. "You think I changed my mind?" he said, surprise coloring his tone.

Reno swallowed again, although this time he was fighting down his nervousness. "I figured you might have," he responded, pressing his hands against the edge of Tseng's desk. He was leaving fingerprints, but he forgot to care. "You didn't even text me, man."

"Conversation is a two-way street," Tseng told him flatly. "I'm more surprised it took you this long to bring it up, when you're usually so quick to discuss anything that catches your interest."

Reno frowned. The way Tseng said that sat wrong with him. "And you think you're just a passing thing that caught my interest?" he asked. Heat coiled in his gut and his fingers curled.

Tseng glanced down at his hands before meeting his eyes again. He stood, sliding his chair back from the desk, and walked around it, Reno turning to meet him. He boxed Reno in against the edge of the furniture, crowding into his space without even touching him. "I do not make decisions lightly," he said. "I do not change my mind at the drop of the hat."

Reno could hardly breathe. Their mouths were so close together and he could feel Tseng's body heat against him. He took a shallow breath. "You didn't answer my question."

He watched Tseng's eyes move as he searched his face. "…I think it is likely," he replied. "You are not prone to serious carnal attachments, from what I have seen. I would not consider myself of your usual purview, either."

"I'm not sure what you're getting at," Reno growled, offended. He set a hand to Tseng's chest to push him away, but the director leaned into it.

Tseng pressed the fingertips of his left hand to the surface of the desk right next to Reno's hand. "It doesn't matter to me if it's a fling or not," he said. "What matters to me is that you are being sent out on assignment in the morning and you do not need distractions."

Reno barked a loud laugh. "Distractions? Fucking hell." He finally pushed Tseng away, sliding free from his shadow and off to the side. Tseng moved to sit on the edge of the desk. "Tell me the fucking truth, Tseng. Did you change your mind?"

Amber eyes stared him down, unreadable. "No."

The knot in Reno's chest loosened. "Then why are you stone-walling me?"

To his surprise, Tseng looked away. He sighed softly and closed his eyes before facing Reno again. "I want to take my time with you. No distractions. No impending missions. And I can't do that right now."

Reno felt like all the air had been punched out of him. He blinked and took a step back, conceding ground he didn't know he had been trying to hold. "Oh."

Tseng tilted his head just so and Reno was momentarily captivated by the spill of hair over his shoulder. "Just because it's just sex doesn't mean I don't want to enjoy it."

And suddenly he could breathe again. With air came a horrible sense of disappointment. "Right. Yeah. I wasn't…thinking of it like that." He ruffled the spikes of hair at the back of his head, looking down and away.

When Tseng spoke again, his voice was soft. "Is there anything else?"

Reno looked back up to him. "No. No, that's it. Uh, I guess I'll see you when I get back."

Tseng smiled a little. "Of course. Goodnight, Reno."

Reno made an awkward noise. "Goodnight, Tseng."

He booked it out of the room.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And now we're caught up to my writing buffer and I'm still plotting where to go from here, so not sure if the update will be on time next week. But I will try!


	5. Ignition

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Updated tags a bit: Graphic depictions of violence.

Reno shifted his weight and sneered at the men before him. They were clearly of Wutain descent, but wore the uniforms of ShinRa employees working the trade border in Cosmo Canyon. The trade guards.

"The fuck is taking so long?" he growled at them. He was antsy, hands shoved into his pockets and fiddling with his lighter. "If your boss ain't here in five minutes, I'm leaving."

They grew more nervous. One hastily said, "Sorry, sir! I'm not sure what's holding him up, he might be working on a shipment."

Reno spit off to the side. He was enjoying making them agitated. He looked away from them, squinting down the long road of warehouses to where he knew Rude had gone. He couldn't see his partner from here. "Fuck this. Tell him to come find me." He headed off to find Rude, ignoring their sputtering. Being alone on missions always put his hackles up.

It took him longer than he was expecting to find his partner. When he did, he called out to him. Rude looked up from the box he was examining, reaching up to adjust his sunglasses. "Yo. What's going on?"

Rude shook his head just slightly. "They said their manager is MIA. They're not even sure where he went."

Reno frowned. "Huh, that's what the shitheads in the other warehouse were telling me. Same boss?"

"I doubt it." Rude pointed at the side of the box in front of him and Reno took a closer look. It said 'caution: explosives.' "Probably ran the minute they heard ShinRa was coming."

Reno hissed a curse. "Alright, we're cutting the shit." He turned to look around until he spotted a couple of workers that were loitering, watching them. "Hey! Come break this open." When they hesitated, he snapped. "NOW."

They weren't stupid enough to push a cranky Turk. One guy hustled over while the other grabbed a crowbar and they worked at the container until the lid came loose and they could lift and drag it away. Reno jerked his chin and one of the guys grabbed the black packing lid to pull it off and set it aside.

Rude sighed softly and Reno swore again. Cradled in the box was a machine gun with a very recognizable maroon logo on it. "They didn't even try to hide it," Reno mumbled as the workers went very still, shocked. "They had to have known we would find out eventually."

"No faith," Rude agreed.

Reno rolled his eyes and stretched. "Man, what a pain in the ass." He pointed at the two workers who jumped like he had fired at them. "Find someone in charge. Don't care how high you have to go, you find 'em. Or I'll find you. Capiche?" They nodded hastily and booked it.

Rude closed the box back up while Reno took down the serial number on the side and found more from the shipment. "There's loads, partner," he called to Rude, shaking his head. "Where the fuck are they getting these?"

"Reno!"

The second he heard his name shouted, the Turk took cover. A scattered line of bullets hit the ground where he had been standing a second ago. He looked up and saw an unfamiliar guy with one of the stolen guns standing at the mouth of the warehouse, a couple other men with him. "Well, shit."

"Fucking Turks!" the man shouted, keeping the gun pointed towards where they had hidden. "We're going to put you damn ShinRa dogs down!"

"Points deducted for no creativity," Reno sighed to himself, pulling out his EMR. He peeked around the box a tiny bit and swore when they shot at him, ducking back again. He readjusted his goggles to push his hair down and peeked again. This time, his spikes didn't give him away immediately and he got a glimpse of their positions before he had to hide again from the gunfire.

Humming softly to himself, Reno dug out a couple grenades. He pulled the pins and started counting, gazing up at the ceiling and listening for footsteps. Luckily, they didn't seem keen on moving further in.

He threw the grenades. The men let out a shout of alarm right before they went off, a loud cacophonous bang that hurt Reno's ears as he jumped out and darted towards them. He saw Rude emerging from cover as well.

The adrenaline of the fight and the lightning coursing through his body had him grinning viciously as he suddenly was right in front of one of the shooters. He had blood pouring from his ears and one hand that had been savaged when he tried to protect himself from the grenade blast. His eyes went wide, but Reno hit him with an electrical current before he could do anything else and he went down hard, spasming. Blood leaked from his mouth, Reno noting absently that he had probably bitten his tongue.

Someone next to them turned their gun towards Reno and he bolted. A brief side-step and he was behind them, swinging the magrod hard across the back of their neck. There was a sickening crack and they fell. Reno looked up for the third culprit and saw them grasping at Rude's arm around their throat as their eyes rolled back. They gave a soft wheeze and slowly went limp.

"Don't kill 'em," Reno told his partner. Rude nodded and let up slightly to keep from choking them to death. "They probably don't know much, but it's something." He looked at the bodies and then around the building, ears primed for any noises of escapees or back up.

Still, he was shocked when he turned a corner and came face to face with another guard with a gun. He was equally stunned and that likely saved Reno's hide. He reached out and wrenched the gun to the side, then jammed the EMR into his temple and discharged it. The man made a low gurgling noise and crumpled.

Holding a hand against his nose to stifle the smell of burnt flesh, Reno continued clearing the warehouse. He finally returned to Rude, who had set their captive on the ground and bound his ankles and wrists with tape as well as putting some over his mouth. "Good job, yo. Hey, how many warehouses are around here?"

Rude's mouth flattened. "Sixteen," he said grimly and Reno groaned. "All likely compromised."

Reno rubbed at his face, switching off his weapon. "Fuck. We can't check them all, that's a waste of time…" He dug out a cigarette to smoke, trusting Rude to keep an eye out while he thought up a plan. "We'll have to intimidate the bitches," he decided. "Pull some shit to keep people in line. I'll call Tseng and get it cleared." He looked at Rude's captive and shook his head. "Leave the bodies, they can deal with it. Since the bosses already jumped ship, we'll have to use this guy and find another one or two to make an example."

Rude shifted his weight. "…How do I find more?"

Reno looked up at him and read his flat expression without trying. "Do it," he said.

Rude's shoulders slumped a bit, but he just nodded and left the building. Reno chewed at his cig for a moment before calling up his boss. It only rang once.

"This is Tseng."

"Yo." Reno swallowed a displeased sigh. "The managers are all gone, man. We got attacked by some cronies and took 'em out, kept one as a captive. Permission to make an example?"

Tseng seemed to be mulling over the information. "How many?" he asked, sounding resigned.

"We've just got the one, but we killed four others. I sent Rude to grab one or two more."

"Just one other," Tseng responded. "They won't be stupid enough to come out of hiding."

Reno hummed, on the same wavelength. Whoever they grabbed now was going to be innocent workers. "Rude doesn't like it. Mind taking him off rotation for a bit after we get back?"

"I'll think about it, but I do agree with you." Reno heard keyboard clicking in the background of the call. "Take care of it. See if you can find any clues as to where the leaks went."

"Got it, boss." He hung up and called Rude. "Yo, just grab one."

Rude grunted into the speaker and hung up on him.

Reno sighed and sat on the unconscious body next to him, ignoring the wheeze of air. "You shitheads make my life a lot harder," he complained.

\--

By the time they had rounded up another worker, tortured and killed him and their prisoner out in the open for all to see, and gotten the chopper back into action to head back to Midgar, Reno was a live wire of irritation and exhaustion. Even Rude kept a slight distance, unable to temper the redhead's attitude when he was this agitated. Reno flew the helicopter and sucked down three cigarettes while he did, Rude saying nothing but not hiding the wrinkle in his expression that said he hated the smell.

When they landed, Reno had calmed a bit, no longer on the knife-edge of losing his shit. "You gonna shower?" he asked Rude, an olive branch of conversation, as he did post-flight checks.

"Mmhm." Rude adjusted his gloves and sat back to watch Reno go over the chopper. "Got blood under one of my gloves and it itches. You got it in your hair again, you know."

Reno groaned. "Yeah, I know, I can feel it drying." He reached up and dragged his nails over a clump in his hair, pulling some of it out and tossing the residue to the ground. "Nasty shit. I didn't _mean_ to hit him that hard."

Rude snorted, mouth twitching up in an involuntary smile. "Sure, partner." He sighed. "You done yet?"

Reno turned to give him a scandalized stare. "Rude, go take your damn shower! You think being naked in the same room as me when I'm not getting any is a good idea?"

The other Turk thought it over very briefly before nodding. "Bad idea. Take your time." And hopped out of the chopper.

Reno leaned back in the pilot chair and tried to figure out where his life had jumped the tracks he wanted it on.


	6. Attraction

Reno stood outside the door to Tseng's apartment, chewing on a cigarette. He checked his phone again, not sure what he was looking for, before giving a small, helpless sigh and tossing the cig to the ground. He ground it out under his foot then rapped on the door.

Footsteps approached and as they grew louder, Reno's tension ramped up. He was just about to call it and bolt when the door swung open. Tseng met his gaze. "I was wondering when you would finally knock," the director commented. He looked Reno up and down, eyes lingering on the spent butt by his shoe, and simply walked away.

Reno entered and shut the door behind him, hearing Tseng murmuring softly to his cat in the living room. He toed off his shoes and took off his suit jacket, hanging it up on the rack by the door. He found Tseng in the living room still, in the midst of some type of staring competition with Daiyu. Surprisingly, the cat lost, blinking slowly and turning to focus on Reno instead. Her stare quite eloquently said _Oh. You again._

Reno stuck his tongue out at her and Tseng shook his head.

"I hate to break it to you, Reno, but Daiyu gets priority here," he said with faked grimness. "It IS her house."

Reno snorted. "Aw, c'mon, it's practically our version of a handshake now."

"I doubt she sees it that way."

Emboldened and hungry, Reno walked over to Tseng and trailed a hand across his shoulder blade. He moved long dark hair out of his way and pressed his lips to the soft, pale skin of Tseng's throat.

To his mild surprise, Tseng tilted his head to give Reno room. "Desperate, are we?" Tseng asked in a calm, even tone. If Reno couldn't feel his pulse flutter under his mouth, he wouldn't have been able to tell he was even reacting.

"Been too long, and I told you weeks ago that I want you," Reno growled, voice pitching deeper. "You gonna hold out on me again?"

Tseng sighed, hand drifting back to settle on Reno's thigh. "My phone is off," he said simply. "But." He pushed gently and moved away, separating himself from Reno smoothly. He ran his fingers gently through his hair, straightening it back out. "Not in front of my cat." He smiled and it was edged.

Reno grunted a little, acquiescing even if he could have cared less about the cat seeing anything. He heard about animals interrupting sex before, though, so he supposed it was fair. "You have stuff in your room?"

Tseng's mouth twitched in amusement. "I'm lucky I understand your language, seeing how precise you are. Yes, I have 'stuff' in my room, don't concern yourself."

Reno couldn't help grinning at his dry words. "Hey, I just wanna be sure, yo! Don't give me lip for it."

Tseng's eyes darkened. "I'll give you plenty of lip if you'll just shut up and go in there and wait," he said, tone calm and even. The only thing giving him away was the lust in his stare.

Reno swallowed. "Uh…Yeah. Okay." He both hated and loved that Tseng could trip him up with barely any effort. He wasn't used to his boss being so forthright about their attraction to each other.

They stared at each other for a moment longer before Reno kicked himself into gear. He took a step back, then another, and turned to head to the room down the hall he remembered from the last time he had been there. It felt strange, wrong, to be standing there in the privacy of Tseng's room alone. Like an invader. He wandered over to the nightstand and opened the drawer, searching for condoms and lube. He found them, but he also found a novel and, to his intrigue, a vibrator and a dildo. He reached for them, hesitated, and grabbed just the lube and condoms instead.

Tseng was taking too long. Reno got an idea into his head and started stripping. He tossed his clothes to the floor, careless of where they landed, and climbed into Tseng's bed.

He was momentarily waylaid from his plans by the smell that assaulted his senses. It sent a pang of painful longing and almost homesickness through him. He lay down on the sheets and stared up at the ceiling, feeling the cool, soft fabric against his skin and smelling Tseng all around him.

"Ew," he mumbled, disturbed by his own unexpected vulnerability. He shoved it down and lubed up his hand before slicking his palm against his dick. A sigh fell from his mouth at the sweet relief, and he moved his hand over the hardened length for a moment, then pressed his thumb to the head with a soft hiss.

That was about when Tseng opened the door with a faint click and walked in. He didn't notice Reno at first, twisting before the door opened all the way and making sure Daiyu didn't have an opportunity to sneak her little feline body into the room. He shut the door and finally turned.

Reno almost wished he could have taken a picture of the look on Tseng's face. It was more amusing that arousing. The Turk went completely deadpan like he was trying to hide his emotions in a meeting, all the lines in his expression smoothing out to practiced blankness. But his eyes were burning like fire. They were red with hunger and emotion.

Reno's breath caught. He grinned lazily at his boss, hand still moving over his length and producing wet noises. "Cat got your tongue, bossman?"

That stirred him to life as he blurted out, "I told you, not here." It seemed to irritate him a little and he moved toward the bed, sitting sideways on the mattress. Reno shivered and squeezed his cock as Tseng's gloved hand settled on his thigh and went down to his knee, then back up and rested almost innocently on his narrow hip. Black hair shifted softly as Tseng tilted his head and looked Reno over slowly and thoroughly from toe to his face. When they met eyes, Reno twitched at the lust there.

Tseng leaned over and stopped before their lips touched. "I'm going to ruin you," he murmured.

Reno's patience snapped neatly. He wrapped his other arm around Tseng's neck, pulling him down and kissing him hard. His lips almost hurt from the pressure he accidentally put on them in his need, but he didn't care. He didn't care. He almost had what he wanted, finally.

Tseng's fingers dug into his thigh painfully. The director kissed him back with a restrained passion, tempered where Reno's was wild and unfettered. His fingers tangled into bright red hair and tightened, forcing Reno to gasp against his mouth. Tseng took advantage and plunged his tongue into Reno, caressing against the wetness of his mouth eagerly.

Ever impatient, Reno released his painful cock to grab Tseng's shoulder and try to pull him down. Tseng laughed at him and moved away, grabbing Reno's wrists to still his onslaught. "Shh," he murmured, kissing his gasping second on the forehead. "Patience."

Tseng stood and removed his gloves with unhurried motions, despite Reno watching him from the bed with burning eyes. He set his gloves on a chair in the corner and began ridding himself of his suit jacket. He tugged the sleeves straight and folded it neatly. Just as he draped it over the chair, Reno burst out, "Tseng!"

When the director turned to look at him, Reno glared. "You're really gonna make me wait like this?"

And Tseng huffed a quiet laugh. "Yes," he said simply, like he was pleased Reno understood. "I can confine you, if that would be your preference."

Reno shuddered and rolled his eyes despite his arousal. "Not this time," he mumbled. He noticed the briefest flash of uncertainty in amber eyes, but pretended he hadn't.

Tseng nodded once and started undoing the buttons of his shirt. "Then behave."

And that was more delicious than any cuffs or ropes. Tseng had given him an order. Inside the bedroom or out of it, it didn't matter. Reno would obey.

So he did. He lay there impatiently and tempered his reactions, watching as Tseng removed his shirt and also draped it over the chair. Reno raked his eyes over the director's bare torso, taking in each scar and old wound with fascination. He knew Tseng had been through a lot, but it was something else entirely to see it mapped out. He wanted to trace the scars with his fingertips and tongue. His mouth watered.

When Tseng removed his pants and boxers, Reno made a noise low in his throat, involuntary. He rolled onto his side, resting his head on one hand while the other lay on the bed. Tseng looked at him and Reno smirked a little when he noticed his muscles tense and his cock twitch. He preened under the attention, running his clean hand through his hair and stretching his legs.

"Behave," Tseng said again.

Reno's lips curled and he laughed softly. "Do you really want that?" he asked in a purring tone. His heart rate picked up as the director returned to him. He hissed as Tseng grabbed him by the chin, twisting his face upwards.

"What do you think?" he asked, voice unnaturally soft.

Reno thought a lot of things. His mind was a constant hive of activity, to the point where he got sick of his own inner monologue. At that point, however, everything went blessedly quiet. Reno didn't have an answer, because he damn sure couldn't think at all. "Kiss me," he said instead.

Tseng did.

Reno moaned as Tseng pushed him down and climbed between his legs. It was then that the other man's desire became clear, as he was anything but patient as he licked into Reno's mouth and found the lube to coat his fingers. When he pressed a digit slowly into the redhead, Reno tipped his head back and sucked in a breath, clutching at his shoulders.

His blood was singing. Everything was heat and sensation. Tseng's finger inside of him was long and slender and made him writhe. Tseng pressed a second digit into him as he gripped Reno under his knee and held him open. Reno wound up grabbing the sheets instead, twisting them in his hands as he panted and stared at amber eyes.

Tseng shifted, moving to curl over Reno's form. He released his knee to hold his length steady as he drew his tongue across the slit.

Reno winced, the spark of pleasure almost painful when paired with the knowledge of exactly who was unraveling him bit by bit. When Tseng widened his mouth and took his cock inside, Reno actually cried out, one hand going to rest on dark hair. He got a glare for it and he let out a whine as he withdrew his hand again, moving it safely back to the sheets. Tseng's hand was holding his knee again and he couldn't close his legs, spread for him helplessly and at his mercy.

He was jerking as Tseng sucked on his length and lathed his tongue over the heated skin, his muscles twitching in reaction. He finally hissed and stammered out, "St-Stop! Stop. Close." Even though he had been the one to warn, he groaned in dismay as Tseng pulled away from him. It was then that Reno realized he had snuck at third finger into his ass while he was distracted.

Seeming to realize that Reno had noticed, Tseng smirked at him, eyes sultry, and twisted his fingers and pressed. Reno bucked into his hand, gasping, as a jolt of pleasure shot up his spine like electricity. "Fuck! Oh gods, please."

"What was that?" Tseng asked. There was a lilt to his tone that Reno had rarely heard, almost like he was laughing without actually laughing.

"Please," Reno sputtered again, never above begging for what he wanted. He looked at Tseng, pleading in his darkened blue eyes. "Need you."

That was when Reno saw him smile, actually smile, for the first time in years. The expression reached his eyes and made him look so much younger. He doubted Tseng was aware of it. "Okay, Reno," he said softly. "Okay."

Tseng unrolled a condom over his length and slicked himself up. Reno hooked a leg over his shoulder and the other around his waist and reached for him, silently pleading. He was surprised when Tseng obliged, leaning over to let Reno wrap his arms around his shoulders as he lined himself up and pressed into the Turk.

Reno's eyes fluttered and he bit his lip, brow furrowing. It didn't hurt at all, but the pressure was still overwhelming and he wound up dragging Tseng down into another kiss. Tseng was still all control, taming Reno's fervor with his slow, methodical caresses. Even as he began to move his hips back and forth, he kept it steady and measured, letting Reno feel every inch of him as he slowly worked his way further into his body.

It wouldn't take much to break him, Reno realized with dismay. The sheer relief of getting Tseng when he had been chasing him for so long was almost as euphoric as his cock stroking him inside. Tseng's face was beautiful, his eyes over-bright and mouth open just slightly as he panted for breath.

It wouldn't do. It couldn't be this way. If this kept up, the emotions tight in his chest would bubble forth and Reno didn't know what sort of foolish bullshit he would pull then. He pulled Tseng closer with his arms and bit at his lips, tugging roughly until Tseng growled at him in discomfort. "Too slow," he breathed and rolled his hips upwards. "Fuck me, Tseng."

The director huffed, amused and irritated. He braced one hand on the bed and the other on Reno's hip then gave him what he wanted. The first harsh thrust broke a moan out of Reno, and from there on he couldn't seem to stop. Tseng was gritting his teeth, his expression almost feral as he fucked into Reno, his fingers painfully tight on his hip. Reno met him movement for movement and dug his fingernails into his shoulders. Black hair was draping across Tseng's shoulders and adding a silken feeling against Reno's skin to the sharp shocks.

He felt it building to a peak and reached down to start stroking himself, moaning with abandon as his stomach tightened and the sensations coiled in his pelvis and overwhelmed everything else. He couldn't even get a warning out before he was coming, gasping and begging in words that he wasn't aware of. He was sure he shouted Tseng's name at one point.

Tseng bent over him and placed his lips to his shoulder. Reno was momentarily lost on what he was doing. As Tseng grunted and climaxed, he bit down on the arch of Reno's shoulder, making the other Turk yelp and put a hand to the back of his head. Tseng's hips kept working, the sound of his pelvis meeting Reno's ass loud in the air mixed with Reno's cries. As he came down, his slowed his thrusts, then stopped altogether.

It was quiet for a moment, both of them catching their breath. Reno realized his hand was in Tseng's hair and he untangled his fingers, running his palm over his shoulder blade instead and feeling the raised marks where he had apparently scratched.

"Sorry," he blurted out.

Tseng let out an undignified snort and shook his head, withdrawing from Reno's body and disappearing into the bathroom to take care of the condom. He returned with a washcloth.

After Tseng washed the jizz from his belly, Reno grabbed his arm and pulled him down into bed, laughing when Tseng made a startled noise. He buried his nose into black tresses. "We're having a round two."

Tseng just huffed and lay on him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Me, the writer in my own dang fic: FINALLY.
> 
> I almost straight-up forgot to update today LOL whoops.


	7. Confusion

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry for disappearing. Things have been crazy and my muse went on vacation. But hopefully I can pick up a semi-regular update schedule again!

The next morning was one of the strangest things Reno had ever experienced.

As usual, Tseng was up before him. But when Reno blearily opened his eyes, he found Tseng staring at him with equal tiredness. His expression was soft and his eyes lidded, apparently just watching him sleep. Seeing Reno had noticed, he reached over and patted his cheek sharply then sat up and got out of bed.

Baffled by the gesture, Reno made a throaty noise and watched Tseng's ass before it disappeared into a pair of pants. He made a move to stand and winced when his own ass protested vehemently. "Tseng," he whined pathetically. "I'm in fucking pain! This is all your fault."

"Funny, I seem to remember someone asking me to…What was it? Fuck you?" Despite the rebuttal, Tseng returned and placed a hand on Reno's lower back. "Lay back down on your front."

Reno obeyed, a little confused, but willing to listen. He crossed his arms to keep his head propped up and closed his eyes, still sleepy. He felt Tseng shift his weight further on the bed then soft hands press into his back. He pushed down, causing Reno to yelp, then upwards. The motion made his sound of indignant pain turn into a low grunt. He furrowed his brow, not sure he liked the feeling. But then Tseng did it again and his muscles quickly decided that yes, actually, that was a very nice feeling. His breath shuddered out as he relaxed under Tseng's firm touch.

Tseng worked mainly on his lower back, but he gradually moved upward. He swept Reno's hair off his back with a careless gesture and Reno stifled a shiver as best he could. He was getting worked up again and he was barely awake.

Reno had practically melted like butter by the time Tseng reached his shoulders. Tseng only rubbed the muscles there a couple times before he drew his palms slowly and smoothly back down Reno's spine. He stopped with his hands resting just above Reno's blanketed rear. "Better?" he asked.

Reno was caught off-guard by how tender his voice was. "Much," he mumbled into his arms, content to lie there and absorb more heat.

Tseng chuckled and patted his butt cheek. "Excellent. Breakfast in ten minutes." He ignored Reno's groan of complaint and disappeared out of the room.

Reno contemplated the merits of ignoring that almost-command and just staying in Tseng's bed. Until he felt a weight that was definitely not Tseng land on the mattress and he sat up sharply, hissing as it made his body protest.

Daiyu stared at him. He stared back.

The door was open. Tseng had totally done that on purpose. Grumbling petulantly, Reno threw off the blankets and cautiously climbed to his feet. It was a struggle, but he managed eventually. Muttering about painkillers, he started hunting for his clothes and found them neatly folded and sitting on the chair. Reno paused, groggy mind working that thought over.

Tseng had gotten up at some point either the night before or that morning to pick up all his clothes and fold them. And then he had climbed back into bed with Reno without disturbing him or trying to wake him. And the tone of his voice and the look in his eyes he had just seen…

Reno shook his head. It was nothing. Especially considering Tseng had flinched from the idea of them sleeping together again multiple times. That wasn't going to change from one night together. Perhaps Tseng had been thinking about something else. Probably. Finished bringing himself down to the planet, Reno put his clothes on and went out to the kitchen, leaving Daiyu behind to curl up in the warm spot on the bed.

Tseng was sitting at his dining table, placidly drinking tea with a plate of pancakes just off to the side. It looked like he had already eaten something while Reno was still struggling to get himself out of bed.

"Where are your meds?" Reno asked. When it came out a croak, he cleared his throat and grabbed the coffee that had clearly been left for him at the table.

Tseng blinked at him over his cup. "I assume you want painkillers, but I don't have any in the house," he said. Unlike prior, the warmth had gone from his face and voice in the time Reno had taken getting up and coming out to the dining area. "I apologize. It's a habit I don't like to encourage in myself."

Reno slowly blinked back at him then took a deep drink from his coffee. He set it down and added a lot more sugar from the dish also on the table. "Didn't know you struggled with that," he said evenly, not meeting Tseng's eyes.

The director seemed to consider that before he said, "I try not to let anyone become aware of it. I'm not… _We_ are not supposed to be human."

Reno was disappointed. Already they were falling back into their old routine and rhythm. Director and Turk. Mentor and trainee. He took a shallow breath and finally sat down. "You should sleep more, you know," he drawled. "Everybody knows you're struggling when you have bags the color of night under your damn eyes."

"How poetic." Tseng was deadpan. He finished his tea. "Get ready for work."

Reno looked up at him with pancake in his mouth then down at the plate full of food. He hastily swallowed. "But I—"

"Perhaps you shouldn't have slept in."

Reno watched, mouth agape, as Tseng stood in a smooth motion and disappeared around the corner into the kitchen. Suddenly irritated, he ignored the verbal jabs and resumed eating, taking his sweet time.

Tseng didn't reappear to heckle him until Reno was almost finished eating.

\--

Rude cleared his throat.

Reno looked up, accustomed to the noise being Rude's version of garnering attention. He saw the raised brow and the slight uptick to the corner of his mouth and hastily looked back down at his paperwork. "What 'chu want, partner?"

"You know exactly what I want," Rude responded, low voice filled with amusement. "You came to work with Tseng."

"And?" Reno retorted, a bit defensively. He knew the minute he heard his own words that he had already given up the truth.

Rude snorted. "And shit, as you said before. Spill, asshole."

Outed, Reno abandoned his attempt at privacy and turned to face Rude, leaning on his elbow. Elena was in the room, but she had headphones in, listening to some surveillance tapes. "Alright, so I finally got laid. Happy now?"

Rude folded his arms and sat back, a silent invitation Reno was all too happy to take.

Reno started quietly regaling Rude with all the sordid details, only leaving out the morning after strangeness. When he was done, he sat back in his chair, chewing on the inside of his cheek and trying not to think too hard about how Tseng's hands had felt digging bruises into his skin. "It was great, man. But, uh, probably ain't gonna happen again."

"Why not?" Rude sat up, brow furrowing.

Reno shrugged. "Dunno, he just seemed real…nervous whenever I made any mention of it happening again. I'll try for sure, yo. I ain't giving it up that easily. But there's no guarantee, is all I'm saying."

Rude frowned at him. "Strange," he finally said. "If he said yes once, why would he say no to a second time?"

Reno grimaced. "Maybe something about fraternizing with a coworker, who the fuck knows. But fuck, even if it doesn't work out that way, that was one hell of a memory to make."

Rude chuckled at him and his slightly dopey expression. "It's a miracle you're sitting right now, isn't it?"

"I might have taken way too many pills," Reno said, waving a hand blithely. "And I might need to get up and walk around every so often. But whatever, as long as we aren't on active duty or something, I can lay around all I want. Actually, that sounds like a great idea." He gathered up his stray crumpled paperwork and a pen and disappeared into the break room to lounge and work horizontal on the couch instead of sitting in a chair. Not much better, but a slight improvement. Or at least, it was until Tseng came into the room, making a beeline for the coffee machine, and pegged his position.

"What are you doing?" He seemed less than impressed.

Reno snorted, distractedly filling out a section with his pen. "You know what I'm doing," he retorted. "Got a problem with it?"  
Tseng was quiet a beat, but it was long enough for Reno to glance up to try to get a look at him just as he answered, "No, but you could stand to act at least a little professional in the workplace."

For some reason, Reno was offended. He couldn't quite place where it stemmed from. He just knew it had something to do with no one having gotten onto him for his lack of clear professionalism in years and suddenly getting a remark from Tseng grated on his nerves. He sat up abruptly and grit his teeth when it sent a stab of pain down his back. "Fine. Sorry." He dumped his paper on the nearby table instead and went back to reading, absently rubbing his knuckles into his lower spine.

He felt eyes on him, but refused to look up. He heard the hiss of the machine and a trickle as it filled a mug. He didn't hear Tseng move to take it for a long time, even after it was clearly finished. He finally did and exited the room without another word.

Reno released a breath he hadn't realized he was holding and rubbed at his forehead. He pulled his goggles off and ruffled his bangs, staring at the scribbled pen marks unseeing. How the hell was he supposed to get another go at Tseng when the man seemed determined to jam a wedge between them?

When he returned to his desk, he noticed Rude look up from the corner of his eye. His partner didn't say anything, just struck up an idle conversation with Elena. Reno noticed she was giving him a side-eye too, but obligingly was drawn into distraction by Rude. If his reaction was bad enough that his coworkers were noticing, that definitely wouldn't fly.

He sucked in a breath and changed direction, leaving the room again to go outside to a landing and take a smoke break.


	8. Escalation

Tseng slammed Reno back into the wall and kissed the breath out of his lungs. Reno was startled and unmoored, floundering as Tseng pulled at his clothes and pressed his body tight against his own, pushing his thigh between Reno's legs. Reno moaned helplessly into the kiss, but gripped at Tseng's shoulders to try to push him away.

Tseng grabbed his hands before he could and pinned him by the wrists. He pulled away barely enough to breathe. Reno could still taste his air.

"What are you doing, yo?" Reno asked. He was dismayed by the rasp in his voice, put there by only moments under Tseng's hands. "Thought you were done."

"I told you," Tseng replied, "I don't change my mind that easily." His tone was even, but there was a furrow in his brow. Apparently Reno's doubts were frustrating him.

"Could've fucking fooled me," Reno growled, eyes narrowing. "Acted like you hated me the past couple of weeks. Ashamed of me, Tseng?"

Tseng shoved his wrists against the wall, anger sparking in his amber gaze. "No." Reno had never heard that tone in his voice. "Never." He kissed Reno again, hunger and frustration in it.

Reno let him. He reciprocated with his own desire and irritation, the need in his chest that wouldn't be fulfilled. He wasn't satisfied until Tseng's dick was sunk deep inside him and Tseng was stifling Reno's cries with his mouth. He wrapped his legs around Tseng's waist like he meant to keep him there, clinging to him. It was hard to think, hard to breathe, not enough space in that damn storage room. Reno would've come undone without a single touch, but Tseng wrapped a hand around him anyway and drove Reno over the edge without mercy. He shuddered and arched his back, ears ringing, and felt Tseng thrust into him before joining him.

Reno went slack. He gasped for breath, bangs sticking between his forehead and Tseng's. He realized he had pressed their faces together and his stomach tightened with dread. Still, Tseng hadn't pulled away. He looked just as wrung-out, but he kept Reno supported against the wall, kept his wrists held in place.

Tseng looked up at him and the fathomless depths of his eyes momentarily mesmerized Reno. It wasn't just the beautiful, unique color. There was a wisdom and weariness there that entranced Reno just as much. He wondered what Tseng saw in his own.

The director withdrew from his body, Reno hissing softly, and moved his grip from his wrists to his hips. Reno unsteadily lowered his hands, feeling an ache in his wrist bones that no doubt meant he was going to be feeling it for a couple days. He unwound his legs from Tseng's waist and unsteadily stood on his own feet. He barely even noticed Tseng's hovering grasp, ready to catch him.

Satisfied Reno could stand, Tseng took a step back and began putting his appearance back together. "You are excused for an hour," he said, eyes glinting in a manner Reno couldn't place. "Go home and take care of yourself."

Reno placed it after that. Guilt. His afterglow soured. "You say you ain't ashamed of me, but then you pull something like this," he snapped irritably. He found a roll of paper towels and started doing his best to clean most of the mess off of his skin, wincing when the rough texture abraded sensitive areas. He flinched when he felt Tseng's hand on his arm and glared back at him. He was almost distracted from his ire by the sight of Tseng with his hair still in disarray. "What?"

"Reno, anyone that would be ashamed of having you is a gods-damned idiot," he said firmly. "This isn't a placation. It's just the truth."

"Then why--?" Reno cut himself off with a frustrated gesture. "Whatever. Tell your bullshit to someone else."

Tseng gave a short sigh. "Reno, why in the hell do you assume I'm ashamed of you?"

"Because you push me away!" he snapped. "Every time. You think I don't know what people say about me? How I'm a slut, I'm dangerous, I'm some fucking loose cannon?" He snorted and grabbed his pants, tugging them back on. "Doesn't stop me from being a damned good Turk."

He thought he had struck Tseng silent, but when he looked up, there was a calculating, appraising look on his boss's face. Reno sneered and said again, "What?"

"I always knew you had a low opinion of yourself, but I didn't know it went so deep." Reno must have flinched, because Tseng frowned a little deeper. "I don't—"

"Why did you come find me?" Reno interrupted, blunt and sharp as a knife. Tseng went quiet. "Because it clearly wasn't out of _feelings_ or some kind of trust." He examined Tseng's face and found nothing. Still, he could guess. "Have another bad day, did we?"

Tseng drew himself up straight, expression shutting down like blinds hiding the inside of a house. "Is that really relevant?"

Reno went cold. He finished fixing his shirt and grabbed his jacket from where it had gotten tossed aside. He pulled it on then dusted it off in quick pats. "Fine." He turned to face Tseng, chin lifted defiantly. "I'll be your fucking stress relief, then. The sex is good, at least. But if I get one gods-damned hint that this is turning one-sided, I'm out, yo."

"Of course." Tseng seemed calm, but he was watching Reno like he was a wild animal that had slipped its confines and he was trying to coax back to safety. "I never expected otherwise."

Reno barked a crude, mirthless laugh. "Sure. I'll go home and shower, then. See you in an hour." He didn't slam the storage room door on his way out, but it was a near thing. He was grateful he didn't see anyone on his way out of the building. For all the awkwardness of the space and position, Tseng had still fucked him pretty good and he was uncomfortably sore. When he got back to his apartment, he had to stop and lean against the shut door for a moment and bite into the meat of his hand, trying not to just let go and scream.

It was what he had wanted. But by the gods did he regret getting it.

After he had washed, fixed his hair, and gotten dressed again, the adrenaline spike had eased. He felt more levelheaded and less ready to strangle someone. He told himself it was just the heat of the moment that had made him feel so lost and unwanted. After all, even if Tseng wasn’t interested in him beyond his body, it was still enjoyable. And Reno had to admit it was stress relief for him as well as Tseng. All he had to do was picture Tseng clutching a gun in shaking hands and staring a bit wild-eyed to know that he would continue going back to him. If Tseng let him, he would keep crawling into his bed. He wanted to be closer to him, to understand him, even if it drove him insane.

The minute Reno walked back into the office, he looked up to see Rude making his way towards him, frowning. "We have to leave."

Reno stopped. "Right now? Like, right the fuck now?" His voice pitched up with incredulity.

Rude nodded. "Mission. Remember the trade guards?"

"Yeah…?" Reno said warily. He took the folder Rude passed to him.

"They came back. Burned the warehouses."

Reno hissed, examining the photos in the files. Even he could appreciate the pointless loss of life that would accompany those warehouses being destroyed. "Why are we going and not the army?"

"Infantry is already dispatched." When Reno groaned, Rude grimaced in sympathy. Infantry tended to make things messy when they arrived on scene before Turks. "They're clean up. We're investigating for anything left behind."

Reno kissed his teeth. Well, it was a good distraction. "Alright, let's go, partner." He went to his desk and snatched up a spare heal materia to slot into his bracer then followed Rude out of the room.

\--

'Burned' and 'destroyed' was putting it mildly.

There was very little left of the buildings. The Turks spend hours sifting through the wreckage. Reno was overly familiar with the smell of torched flesh, but even he had to take a break when he sneezed and realized that he had just sniffed up someone’s ashes. By the time they were done finding what little they could salvage, both Reno and Rude were coated in soot and Reno had taken a scarf from an infantryman and was wearing it over his mouth.

He trailed away from the last building he had been searching to find Rude. His partner had taken up a position at the main encampment the army had set up and was chugging a bottle of water. A cadet held one out to Reno and he gratefully took it, peeling down the scarf to swish some around in his mouth and spit to rinse the taste of death away.

“You get anything worthwhile?” he asked Rude in a softened tone.

Rude shook his head. “I got some, but nothing concrete.”

Reno clicked his tongue. “Me, neither, partner. What a waste. This is gonna cause hell back at HQ.”

“It already is,” Rude reminded him, nodding towards the cluster of infantry nearby. “I heard talk they’re bringing in a SOLDIER to check things out.”

Reno pressed his lips together. “That better not be true, yo. I don’t wanna get stuck out here babysitting.”

Rude grunted in agreement.

They finished their water, gathered their gear, and climbed into one of the trucks. Reno drove them back into town, grimacing when he could feel grit under his palms against the steering wheel. A shower was definitely calling his name. “Dibs on a shower!” Rude sighed.

It didn’t take long to get back, but it felt longer than it should have. Reno listened to the shower hiss as Rude turned it back on while he rubbed a towel carefully through his hair then let it settle around his shoulders. He grabbed his phone and sat on one of the beds, hitting a speed dial number.

“Tseng of the Turks.”

Reno noted the director sounded stupidly tired. And he wasn’t even the one in the field. He took a moment to feel mildly bitter about that. “Yo. Reporting in.”

“Reno.” He squinted; he almost heard the slightest shift in tone, but he couldn’t be sure. Tseng was so hard to read, but especially without being able to see his face. “Go ahead.”

“There wasn’t much.” He rubbed his forehead and sighed through his nose. “We don’t have an official count on the dead yet, but it’s around twenty and climbing. Five injured survivors. We recovered around thirty crates of weapons, but we haven’t found most of the remaining crates yet. We took one of the crates and put it in the chopper to check out later for identification shit. We’ll have to wait for body identifications to try to trace any workers; they’re pretty fucked up. Rude managed to find a notebook that wasn’t completely burned, but the pages are pretty screwy. It’s a tossup if it’s actually useful info, but we grabbed it for reconstruction.” He shrugged at the air. “That’s it.”

He heard Tseng quietly exhale. “Well, it’s about what we assumed we would get. You and Rude are assigned to keep an eye on the infantry and look for anything else for a few days. You should be able to return by next week, but we’ll see.”

Reno groaned. “Fuck. Boss, are they really sending a SOLDIER out here?”

A pause. “Possibly. It is still being discussed. Where…?”

“The army,” Reno replied. “Rude said some cadets were whispering about it.”

There was silence for a moment or two. Reno impatiently waited; this happened sometimes when Tseng needed to write something down without being distracted. As per usual, Reno couldn’t wait for him to finish writing, though. “Boss.”

“Still here, Reno,” he answered, measured and a little amused. “Keep me updated. You know the drill.”

“Yup.” Reno popped the ‘p’ and tugged his fingers through his damp hair.

Neither of them hung up. It grew awkward quickly. Tseng cleared his throat. “I, ah, I’ll expect another call tomorrow.”

Reno shifted, uneasy. “Yeah.”

“Okay. Goodnight, Reno.”

Reno looked down at his phone after Tseng finally ended the call. “Ifrit, what a cluster-fuck,” he said to himself, startled. He heard an inquiring grunt and looked back to see Rude coming out of the bathroom. “Oh, it was just Tseng.”

He eloquently raised an eyebrow.

Reno rolled his eyes and tossed his phone onto the nightstand. “Shut up and get in bed, asshole.”


	9. Rejection

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello, hope everyone is doing well! I am very tired, but treading water.

Reno picked at his teeth, perched on top of a crumbling brick wall and watching the infantry mill about. Some of them had orders, but others were waiting for their call to leave. Most had already shipped back to headquarters, but there were still plenty standing around mucking things up. It was hard to pick up on sneaky rumors with all the loudmouths hanging around.

He spit at the ground. Even after they left, it was going to remain uncomfortable. Two troops were remaining behind, one as backup for the Turks and the other as backup for…

"Reno."

He turned to look at his partner as he approached. "'Sup, Rude."

Rude crossed his arms and leaned slightly against his wall, his posture still mostly upright. "Roche will be here tomorrow."

Reno made a noise of acknowledgement and turned back to watch the troops. He started picking at his teeth again.

Rude glanced at him. "I know you like him, partner, but remember you're on a mission."

Reno snickered. "Still scarred from last time?"

Rude cleared his throat and lifted his chin. "If that was the issue, I would just remind you to pick a room further from me."

Reno shrugged. "We'll see what happens. But you know I'm a consummate professional, asshole."

Rude paused a second, but the air was so charged, Reno knew he was about to drop a bomb on him. "Tseng and Elena are flying him over."

Reno only briefly froze, but he knew it had given him away to Rude. "So? We probably won't even see them."

"They're staying." Rude sounded like he was choosing his words even more carefully than usual. "They're joining us for a couple days then you and I are heading back."

All of Reno's problematic horniness was waylaid by a much more pressing concern. "They're leaving Rufus alone?" he demanded quietly and urgently.

Rude shrugged a shoulder. "No. He'll have Dark Nation with him, and an infantry escort everywhere."

Reno chewed on his lip. "What the fuck? For two days? Why the hell did Tseng agree to that?"

"I don’t know. I'm pretty sure there's a reason, though. He wouldn't just leave him."

Reno hissed, annoyed. It wasn't just the flare of unnecessary jealousy; it was being left in the dark while someone he considered very important to him was in danger. Rufus had become his friend as much as his boss over the years.

Rude's hand settling on his shoulder jarred him from his thoughts. "Come on. They're almost done with dinner."

Reno pictured eating the bland, mostly healthy food the grunts had put together the past weeks and shuddered. "Fuck that, yo, we're going out to eat. Get us a jeep, I'll meet you up front in ten."

Rude was just as eager as him, trotting off to get a vehicle while Reno slipped from the wall and into the crowd of infantry.

\----

He couldn't sleep.

There was too much churning in his head, a mix of fears about Roche and Tseng in the same area as him at the same time, Rufus being alone for two full days, and wondering what the fuck could possibly be the reason for that.

He gave up after he shifted again and heard Rude give a soft sigh. He snatched up his phone, pants, and his pack of cigarettes and escaped out onto the veranda, closing the door behind him.

He lit up and smoked for a while before he realized he was staring blankly at his phone. It was late, but he knew better than to think Tseng might be asleep even at this hour.

"Fuck it," he muttered around the cig and dialed Tseng's number.

"Reno." Reno was impressed by how completely normal Tseng sounded, like he was calling him in the middle of the day. If he didn't know Tseng so well, he wouldn't have been able to tell he was tired as all hell. "Why are you calling me at two in the morning?"

"Couldn't sleep." Reno grimaced, regretting his words immediately. Hearing nothing but a surprised silence from Tseng, he barreled onward. "Been thinking about the whole leaving Rufus for a couple days. Wanna explain that one?"

Tseng sighed. Reno could picture him setting his pen down and splaying his hands across his desk to keep himself from messing with his hair. "In person. Not over a line."

"Secure as secure can be," Reno complained, but he knew even the most secure lines could be tapped. He subsided and grumbled before Tseng could respond. "Yeah, I get it."

"There's a purpose to it. Rest easy."

Reno was disgruntled by how easily that settled some of his nerves. He trusted Tseng, in ways much more intimate and binding than just sex. "Kay."

"Where is Rude?"

"I'm outside on the patio thing, he's inside the room. Trying to sleep, but knowing him, he isn't getting much rest since I'm out here." Rude had an unnatural sense for when Reno wasn't within safe parameters of him.

Tseng chuckled. "I see."

Reno turned his cigarette over in his fingers. "Where are ya, boss?"

"Where?" Tseng sounded amused. It seemed he had expected the question to crop up eventually. "At home in my office. There is more paperwork to be finished before we can leave tomorrow. Not to mention it will be a prime time to get Rufus's signature on some of these that have been waiting."

Reno heard the tired frustration in his voice then. Unfortunately no one other than the president himself could sign the type of paperwork that Tseng typically dealt with. They were incredibly sensitive documents that even Reno didn't see most of the time. "Mmh. Maybe you'll get some actual sleep while you're out here."

"With you and Roche in a five mile radius? I doubt it," he retorted flatly. "You're both a force of chaos alone, but together it is amplified."

Reno snorted. "We ain't **that** bad."

"Yes," Tseng said quickly, exasperated but fond. "Yes, you are."

"That's just because he's insane! Did you hear about when he put a damn bottle rocket on his bike? The dude legitimately thought it would make him go faster. I tried to explain that isn't how physics work, but he was bound and determined, so of course I had to let him learn through trial and error. The minute he set it off, it…" He trailed off, realizing Tseng hadn't said a word since he went into his spiel. "Hello?"

"I'm here," Tseng said patiently. "Not everyone can talk as much as you."

Reno quieted, sheepish. "Oh. Well, no, I guess not."

"It's part of your charm," Tseng assured him. Reno felt warmed. "While we are there, Elena is going to be staying in the same room as me."

Reno bit his tongue to fight back his instinctive noise of disappointment. It wouldn't be fair to anyone. "Ah. That makes sense. Since you're partners and all."

"I thought I might warn you." There was a faint clicking noise that Reno couldn't identify. Maybe a pen. "But then, I assume you'll be busy causing chaos with Roche."

Reno's brain clicked like the pen had. Tseng was trying to tactfully feel out how Reno felt about them being close proximity without the option of sex. Easy sex, at least. They would have to sneak away and back without anyone knowing, find a place they could fuck in private, abandon both their partners for a time, Reno would have to lose Roche…Just a complete hassle.

So why was he so hard just thinking about it?

Reno swallowed a sigh. "Um. Yeah, probably." He hesitated the briefest moment. "That gonna bother you?"

"Of course not," Tseng answered, smooth as butter. Reno was irritated by how disappointing he found it. "We never agreed to be exclusive, so I would not expect that of you."

Reno took a pull from his cigarette to buy himself some time and ease his sudden nerves. "Yeah, for sure. But uh maybe we can talk for a bit at some point. Get a drink or something."

Tseng was quiet. "Reno…"

"Don't get your panties in a twist, it's not a date," he snapped defensively. He swallowed.

There was a tense silence. "I'm a fellow Turk, Reno. Worse, I'm your superior. If we were to get truly involved, there would be a multitude of security protocol breaches and—"

Reno pulled away from the phone abruptly, taking a deep breath. His chest hurt and his eyes burned. It wasn't a true rejection, because he hadn't truly offered. He should have expected this response. He sort of had. It still hurt. He put the phone back up to his ear.

"—and I'm pretty sure you stopped listening, because otherwise you would have interrupted by now. Reno?"

"I'm here," he growled, petulant.

"You didn't…" There was a rustling noise and another sigh. "Gods damn it, Reno." He sounded upset. Reno took some solace in the fact that he was apparently at the least a good enough lay that Tseng didn't want to lose that. "Have a good night, Reno."

"Bye." He hung up the phone and stared at it. He forced himself to set it on the table nearby with a shaking hand before the urge to chuck it off the balcony took over. "That was short-lived," he muttered to himself.

He chain-smoked for an hour before the emotional exhaustion hit him hard and he finally ducked back inside to try to sleep. As he climbed into bed, he heard Rude rumble something, although he didn't catch the gravelly words. "What?"

"You okay?" Rude was less than half-awake and he was still aware of Reno's state.

"I…" He trailed off as his voice wavered and he swallowed, humiliated.

"C'mere." Rude rolled over towards him and lifted an arm. Reno climbed out of his bed and crawled into Rude's, huddling up against his chest. It was embarrassing how nice it felt to have Rude's arm draped across his waist and his large hand rub his back. "Sleep."

Reno took another shaky breath and closed his eyes, pressing his face into Rude's shoulder. He didn't cry.


End file.
